National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy Announced In India; MNRE Plans Competitive Bidding To Procure Power From Hybrid Projects

(16. May 2018)

A state utility in Andhra Pradesh has agreed to buy solar power from 250 MW commissioned at the Kadapa Solar Park. The rate at which it will buy this power will be lower than the initial price, reported The Economic Times (ET).

In July 2017, there were reports that Andhra Pradesh State Power Distribution Company (APSPDCL) is not willing to sign a PPA with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for a 250 MW PV project that is developed by French energy company Engie’s subsidiary Solairedirect. The solar developer won this capacity for a tariff of 3.15 INR ($0.0487) per kWh, but the rate was apparently not acceptable to the utility (see Andhra Pradesh Discom Refuses To Sign 250 MW PPA).

Now, the state wants to buy this solar power with the condition that it is bundled with 125 MW of thermal power so that the tariff is lower than 3.15 INR per kWh, wrote ET.

The level of the revised tariff is not known. “A factor that may have changed Andhra Pradesh’s mind was that global solar module prices, which had strongly decreased have started inching up in the last few months, an official revealed. Solar prices at forthcoming auctions are unlikely to fall further,” stated ET.